


Into the Lake and Out of the River

by UnderFoxglove



Category: Venom (Movie 2018)
Genre: Drowning, F/M, Homelessness, I'm Bad At Tagging, Light Stalking, Near Death Experiences, Nightmares, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Protective Eddie Brock, Protective Venom Symbiote (Marvel), Protectiveness, Self-Indulgent, Slow Build
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-12-17
Updated: 2019-08-23
Packaged: 2019-09-20 15:28:43
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 10
Words: 19,067
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17025246
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/UnderFoxglove/pseuds/UnderFoxglove
Summary: She fell through the ice of a lake one night, felt herself sinking but couldn't make her way to the surface, couldn't find the place she'd broke through and knew before darkness washed over her that it was all over. But then she's jerked back into consciousness and manages to break through the waters surface.. Only to come out of an entirely different body of water, no where near where she had been when she went under. But that wasn't possible, right?[Title will probably change because of my utter dissatisfaction with it but I can't think of anything else.. Plus it's a bit on the nose eh? ]





	1. Chapter 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've fallen into a rabbit hole after watching Venom and apparently this is how I've come to cope with it??

The first thing she realized was she wasn't cold anymore, she was still wet sure but she wasn't surrounded by the freezing water she had blacked out in.

The second thing she realized was that she could breathe again.

With that realization however, she was jolting up off the ground with a scream caught in her throat and hands grasping at the strap that was still somehow slung over her shoulder. It was a struggle to get up onto her feet, then she was looking around at unfamiliar surroundings while her hands dug into her soaked bag out of reflex to make sure that the contents inside were okay.

A step away from the water behind her and she was stumbling back down onto her knees while still trying to get her breathing back under control. Instead of trying to continue away from the water that had, to her knowledge, killed her for a moment, she concentrated on digging into her things instead. The clothing in the outer bag were soaked through along with the blanket, her brush, which wasn't alarming considering that she was under water.

But she had hoped that the inner bag was at least untouched.

The relief that resounded insider her almost paralleled being able to breathe again. The inner bag was sealed, the few books, her solar charger and her iPod and her other more valuable items were untouched but she didn't break the seal just yet. These were her few treasured possessions after all, it was a miracle that her overly cautious preparation had actually worked. But holy hell she was so happy that it had.

Now she refocused on the area around her and stopped dead in her tracks. This was not where she fell in, in fact this was a far cry from the frozen lake that she'd went under in. The water was moving fast and in the distance, she could hear cars. Not the almost silent forest that had surrounded her on her hike. She tried not to question it, even though the back of her mind was screaming that something was wrong. Something was very very wrong.

First thing to take care of however, was her soaked clothing. Then she had to figure out where she was. Maybe making her way towards the city would help her wrap her head around what was going on.

 

-

 

Three months later, she still wasn't sure that she hadn't died and that coming out of the river hadn't been some weird sort of fall into purgatory or something.

She was in San Francisco, somehow? But somehow it wasn't the _same_ San Francisco that she had known. In hers, there was no 'Demon' running around, killing criminals like some sort of vigilante that people were still terrified of even though there was no news of this 'Demon' killing anyone that wasn't a criminal?

Somehow she was in her world but not her world at the same time? It honestly sound like some wacked out movie plot. Hell, the entirety of this universe seemed like an action movie to her. Aliens? Gods actively appearing in the world to fight bad guys? Literal Superheros saving the day? Though no one really mentioned the almost nightmare scale damage caused by them saving the day sometimes, which she found to be odd but who was she to judge. She wasn't even in the world she was born in anymore apparently.

She'd never really been into action hero movies or comics and yet somehow she'd apparently ended up inside the world of one? If it wasn't for the fact that she was weak from hunger and lack of sleep half of the time, she'd of figured it was some lucid dream. The imaginings of a dying brain starved of oxygen from drowning.

But she hurt and she got hungry and more chances than not she was a petty thief, stealing sandwiches from stores and sleeping in parks during the day so that she could be awake at night.

  
Her stomach growled as she walked into her favorite store, the kindly old woman smiled at her and she smiled back sincerely. She liked the woman, Ms. Chen had watched her carefully when she'd first came into her store but she was careful to never steal in small businesses like hers. Eventually she welcomed her with a warm, albeit possibly worried greeting from time to time.

"I'm going to get a Gatorade and a power bar, is it okay if I use the bathroom first?"

She nodded and turned back to the news paper that was in her hands. She almost sighed in relief at the chance to freshen up, even a little bit. The moment the door was latched behind her and was locked, she was striping off her dirty clothing and started to wash off the best she could with the products she'd managed to lift at various stores around the city.

She was actually going to risk a longer process today by washing her hair and clothes in the sink but god, she desperately needed it. She loved showers but there weren't many places she could slip into to actually get to one at the moment.  
She'd thought of a job in the beginning but that had ended up being pretty laughable to her when it had finally floated through her mind. She had no evidence she was an actual person. No ID, not a lick of information about her that she could find anywhere.

No one would know she was gone here, not that many people would have know she was gone at home either. But here, she was completely alone... Which now that she really thought about it, she wasn't too far off of being completely alone before either?? It was depressing really but she pushed that thought away as she pulled on a fresh pair of black jeans and her charcoal sweater. It was starting to get colder at night.  
Once her socks and boots were pulled back on and her wet clothes were wrung of as much of the water within that she could, she was hoisting her bag over her shoulder and was easing the door open when she heard the shout of a man and froze.

"DAMMIT I TOLD YOU TO HAVE THE MONEY OUT!"

Shit.

Peeking around the door she saw an armed man standing across the counter from Ms. Chen.  
Movement to her left and she realized there were two kids huddled trying not to be seen only a couple steps away from them.

Her heart stopped as the man fired at the ceiling and Ms. Chen scrambled to get the money out that he wanted. She moved on pure impulse, dropping her back under the sink before kicking her boots off before slipping slowly from the bathroom and behind the closest shelf of product she could duck behind.

He was still yelling at the poor woman, waving the gun at her while she continued to slip her way to the next section. She needed to distract him somehow, get him to turn the gun away from her and where the two kids were hiding. A quick glance out the window let her know that onlookers were few and anyone that was aware of what was happening sure as hell weren't going to risk their lives for a store clerk being robbed.

Biting her lip she made a decision and moved throwing a jar of salsa to the isle across from her and froze.

"What the hell?! You said no one was in here!"

She heard him move, listened to his steps and tried to move to counter the direction he was moving. He stormed the corner right after she'd slipped around to where he had been. She threw a glance towards Ms. Chen and hoped she saw the apology in her eyes as she mouthed the words 'I'm sorry' before she threw herself at the shelf and knocked it over on the gun man.

The gun went off, he swore as the thing came down on him and she yelled at the kids and Ms. Chen to run but before she could follow them out, he was coming out from under the mess and grabbing her ankle.  
She went down hard and swallowed a scream, instead deciding to kick at the man almost growling as he pulled her.

"YOU FILTHY BITCH!"

Where the hell was the panic that she should of been feeling right now, all she could really think was that she was actually relatively clean right now, filthy was a bit of an rude exaggeration. Maybe she wasn't entirely convinced she was alive after all? She never really had good self preservation skills before, not being positive that she hadn't died in the water apparently did jack all to help that.

The blunt of the gun came down at her face and she took the force of the hit with her arm and shoulder and twisted, trying to keep a grip on the thing as he fought her.

"I'LL FUCKING KILL YOU!"

Her heart was racing but she couldn't even muster the need to be scared at him. She was honestly just pissed that people were such shit creatures half of the time and if she was going to die, she wasn't going to do it in fear again.

"GET FUCKIN BIT ASSHOLE"

Sure wasn't the best last words a person could say but hey, apparently she was a creature of reaction and instinct right now.  
She supposed that ineloquent come backs could be excused, right?

When a hand of his came near her face, she bite him and raised a knee at the same time. His scream of pain in her ear almost stunned her but she moved lashing out to get the gun away from him and try to escape his grasp but honestly, just getting the gun away from him would be an accomplishment to her right now.

She rolled, kicked him again and when he came to follow her, her elbow went back almost on its own accord and connected with a part of him that felt like it could have been his face but she wasn't going to look to make sure, not when her sights were on the gun just out of her and his reach.

 

-

 

Eddie was furious as his body refused to move in the door to the store.

**_'No, we watch'_ **

"We aren't going to watch as Ms. Chen gets robbed again!"

**_'Just look'_ **

He caught movement behind the robber, watched with wide eyes as a short brunette with wet hair pulled back in a bun walked around the store, apparently silently enough to not draw the attention of the robber shouting at Ms. Chen.

**_'She took her shoes off to move quietly'_ **

"V, we're going in there now"

**_'NO. The small one has a plan. I want to see it'_ **

Whatever Venom saw, he wasn't sure he was seeing it. But he couldn't really do anything about it if he couldn't move on his own accord right now.

The breath left his lungs in a whoosh when the girl hurled something in the isle opposite of her. Watched as she slipped around the isle just in time to be missed by the gun man and her glance at the counter. She mouthed something at Ms. Chen, who shook her head slightly, eyes wide before literally throwing her body against the shelf the man was walking around, knocking him down and causing him to discharge his weapon.

**_'YES!'_ **

She yelled at Ms. Chen and suddenly, her and two kids were running out towards him.

"EDDIE! THAT GIRL IS GOING TO GET HERSELF KILLED!"

"Go Ms. Chen, we'll take care of it"

She barely looked back as she rushed the kids ahead of her and away from the danger.

"We're going in now!"

**_'Not. Yet.'_ **

It was almost a growl in his head.

Then the girl went down and his heart nearly stopped but she didn't scream not really, she kind of growled. When the end of the gun came down at her face she partly blocked it, took the rest of the hit with her shoulder and then twisted.

**_'Her heart is racing but she isn't scared, she's pissed'_ **

__"V!"_ _

Another agonizing slow step forward with the Symbiote in full control of their body.

__"YOU FILTHY BITCH!"_ _

Her bloody lip raised and he felt Venom come closer to the surface suddenly, tendrils of black slipping from his skin, letting him now he was about to completely take over. They were inside the door now but unnoticed by either the girl or the man, especially as she scrambled for the gun finally getting a slip on the man as he howled in pain.

__"GET FUCKIN BIT ASSHOLE!"_ _

**_**_**_'WE EAT HIM NOW'_ ** _ ** _ **

In one moment he was Eddie, taking a step forward and in the next, it was Venom sweeping a long arm at the man that was getting too close to the girl as she scrambled for the gun and throwing him back at the destroyed shelf.

The man screamed, drawing a knife but froze as he took in the creature they stood in front of him. Venom growled and he raised the knife. Then they all heard the gun click and Venom shifted to watch both the now armed girl and the man.

__"What are you waiting for! Shoot the monster!"_ _

Her eyes widened when she realized that they weren't alone. Eddie was surprised as Venom simply stood there, straightening to their full height. She swallowed hard before movement to their side drew her attention back to her attacker. Eddie watched through their eyes as she turned her gaze away from them and felt an actual moment of awe regarding her as the gun went off and the man screamed, going down on one knee.

_'She didn't shoot us'_

Eddie couldn't quite believe it.

"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING!"

There was a flicker of something in her eyes, they watched as her already bruising chin raised. He knew Venom tracked her tongue licking the blood off of her split lip.

__"You said... To shoot the monster"_ _

Venom erupted into what had to be the most sinister yet entertained laughter Eddie had ever heard come from the Symbiote.

 _ **'I**_ **like** _ **her'**_

Somehow, Eddie wasn't at all surprised at the declaration in his head.

"You dumb fucking bitch! That's the Devil of San Francisco! He-He's going to kill us!"

Venom snarled and lashed out, grabbing the man by his injured leg to yank him into the air beside them.

_**"The pretty little woman that shot you with your gun can stay"** _

The man struggled against the hold on his leg screaming as Venom turned to her, regarding her with slitted eyes. Took in the sight of her standing there, her eyes wide and breathing quick but not as shallow as they would have expected. His tongue dipped and then turned back to the pitiful human in their grasp.

**_**_******"You _hoooweveeer_ "** ** ** _ ** _ **


	2. Chapter 2

She was in shock, that's what it was.

The robber had managed to get her just a little too hard on the head probably. That was why she hadn't shot the horrifying thing that stood in their weird triangular stand off. Choosing instead, to turn the gun back on it's owner. The person that had threatened to kill her only moments before.

_'The pretty little woman that shot you with your gun can stay'_

That was what it had said right before taking the head off of the guy. And yet she was standing there, gripping the gun in her hands with no real thought to use it again. Numb to the gory scene she had just witnessed, or maybe she was refusing to acknowledge it?

She was probably refusing to acknowledge it. _That was a lot of blood._

This was Venom, the alien that killed criminals.

Looking at it she had a horrible realization, she was a thief. It was petty theft but that still mean that she was a criminal right? The knowledge of that actually let her emotions come back in a bit of a wave.  
Aah, and there was the panic that she'd wondered about earlier.

It tilted it's head, discarding the body before turning towards her.

**_"You're afraid now?"_ **

It paused and seemed to lean forward to inhale?? It's eyes thinned and it's tongue seemed to slither farther down it's body.

_**"Not quiet fear but close why now"** _

It's sentence came to an end on a bit of a hiss and she somehow didn't flinch. Her mouth did dry up instantly though and her knees felt like maybe they wouldn't continue to support her if this kept up.

"You kill criminals, bad people"

When Venom didn't respond but simply watched her almost calculating, she swallowed hard again. Part of her mind that seemed so distant wondered why the hell she was even talking about this right now, instead of maybe running?

"I'm a thief, that means that I'm a bad person too, right"

 

\--

 

They watched her for a moment and Eddie wondered when he would be asked if they could eat her but the question never came. Instead, they walked towards her, though with how long their legs were. It really only took a couple of steps maybe, before they were literally looming over her.

_'What are we doing?'_

**_'A moment longer'_ **

Was the only reply he got from the Symbiote before he was talking to her again.

**_"What do you steal"_ **

Eddie felt as Venom honed in on the womans pulse. It was fast, definitely skipped a beat but she didn't level the gun at them. It sat almost limply in her hands, hanging towards the floor making him think that she might of actually forgotten she even had it when they moved towards her.

_'Are you trying to scare her?!'_

**_'Not really'_ **

She swallowed, her throat working so so hard and they watched as her mouth opened and then closed before opening again. Venom was being alarmingly patient right now and that alone was pretty startling to him.

"Food.. O-other things I-"

The growl that came from them had her shutting her mouth so hard he could hear her teeth come together. They didn't say anything more, instead, Venom turned and left. A moment later, Eddie was on the roof of a building across the street, V swirling around him before settling back in.

"Now what are we doing V"

**_'Now we watch'_ **

"We are not going to stalk some girl that fought a robber"

**_'She didn't shoot us Eddie'_ **

"Yeah, I'm just as surprised as you.. Considering the fact that you pretty much stood over her and growled at her"

**_'I did not growl'_ **

All he could do was snort at the indignant tone to V's practically growled reply.

"Suure you didn't"

 

\--

 

The moment the store was empty save for her and the literal body on the floor, she was booking it to the back to grab her bag, wash the bit of blood off of her face and redone her boots. As she made her way back through the store, she decided that she was going to have to buy her food later.

Right now, she just had to get the hell out of there. Find somewhere to process what had happened. Or maybe find a place where she could shut it all away and never think about it again.

Who the hell did she think she was?! Going at an armed robber like some kind of hero.. God she really had so little self preservation skills it was amazing she was still alive after being on the streets this long.

She was on her way out the door when the cop cars pulled up. She hadn't really panicked at the attack, not really. She had panicked a fair amount with Venom staring her down, so at least on a primal level she had a bit of sense left? But it didn't even compare to what she felt with the sight of the police cars pulling up to the curb that Ms. Chen was standing at with the two children, who where in serious looking conversation from the looks of them.

Her stomach dropped and she swore she could feel her heart jump into her throat. She couldn't risk being taken in, even for questioning. She had no ID, she had no way to prove who she was because hell, she was pretty sure she wasn't supposed to exist in this world. There sure as hell wouldn't be any evidence that she _was_ in this world, aside from her string of petty crime and literal physical existence but that could only go so far.

There wasn't even a moment of hesitation as she bolted and out the door, another split second to take in the street and then pick her alley escape.

There might have been a startled shout but she didn't stop and when she heard footsteps, she actually thought she might cry all of a sudden. Then realized that would only make running way, way harder than it already was.

"Hey!"

It took all the restraint she had not to turn around and look at the voice calling out. She didn't hear chains, or any thing that really sounded like it was a cop after her. Not the sound of keys jingling off of a flash light or hand cuffs... But then again, how would she even know what it sounded like to be chased by cops??

"Hey! Wait!"

Did she actually have to swallow down a whine just now? She didn't have time to waste oxygen on making useless sounds. Not when she was practically panting in order to breathe.

She was steps away from the fence she'd been running for, she knew logically she should throw her bag over before her but also knew that would make it look like she was running because she'd stolen something right? And she actually hadn't taken anything from anywhere today.

Somehow, she was at the top before the person was close enough to snag her, then she was painfully dropping onto the ground and struggling to get back up when the world seemed to tilt and she lost her balance.

"Look I didn't mean to scare you"

One knee on the ground, the other gripping her bag that had swung around her oddly like a noose. She met the eyes of a man, probably not a cop, with his hands up a couple of steps away from the fence between them.

"W-what?"

He smiled a bit but made sure to keep his hands up still.

"I didn't mean to scare you but I wanted to talk to you and you took off and I just sort of followed"

She still wasn't breathing normally and her heart was still in her throat and damn, she hit the ground harder than when the man had caught her ankle earlier. She tried not to think about the burning aches starting to form on various points of her body. He just 'sort of followed'?! He was all out sprinting after her!

She caste a look behind him, making sure there wasn't anyone else coming before coming back to his eyes.

"Why would you want to talk to me"

She really tried to not say it so.. Bluntly, maybe more like a question but really..  
It just sounded sharp and rude.

"Ms. Chen is a friend of mine and she ran into me.. Told me some crazy girl was going to get herself killed-"

Maybe she should of let him finish the sentence but really, she didn't exactly feel like being polite right now.

"And that makes you want to talk to me how"

If she wasn't mistaken, there was a hint of a laugh in his tone.

"Well when someone tells a reporter about a girl throwing herself at an armed criminal.. Usually they'd like a quote or two"

A reporter?!

"No."

His jaw sagged for a split second before he ran his hand over his forehead.

"No?"

She nodded and took a step away.

"Yeah. **No** "

When she went to turn around, she heard the fence shake a little bit.

"Wait! Ah... Over lunch, my treat!"

At the word lunch, her stomach decided betray her by growling hard and she stopped. Pressed her lips together and glanced back at him.

"Why would you... _Why?_ "

His hands were literally on the fence but it didn't look like he was going to try and get over it.

"Ms. Chen may have mentioned that you didn't get the Gatorade and power bar you were going to get" he kind of shrugged and might of looked guilty as he lowered his hands "and lunch is better than a power bar right?"

Her stomach growled again and she could literally feel it constricting on the nothing that was there.

"I.. I'm not going to talk about it"

He grinned and stepped away from the fence started walking along it, towards where she knew people would be wandering along the sidewalks. A couple steps and he looked back and gave her a look that seemed to ask her why she hadn't started in with him.

"I'm serious. I'm not going to talk about it.. There really isn't anything to talk about anyway"

Now he _did_ laugh.

"You're what? 5'1? Can't weigh more than what 100, 115? You went after an armed robber.. _With a shelf_ "

He definitely managed to snag her for the moment, the promise of food was just far too tempting right now. She smiled slightly and followed him, slowly.. Making sure that he had to keep looking back at her as they went.

"Well, you just covered everything.. Nothing left to talk about"

He kept glancing back at her before seeming to give up entirely and started to walk backwards instead.

"That isn't true, not even a a little bit, pluuus" he stopped and actually finger gunned at her "food tends to make things easier to discuss.. I'm Eddie by the way"


	3. Chapter 3

_**'She's starving'** _

  
He didn't quite agree with the Symbiotes statement but he wasn't far off, she certainly wasn't eating as much as she should of but it didn't look like she was out right malnourished. The bag over her shoulder, the rings under her eyes, the sweater she was wearing was worn and hung off of her oddly, hair still wet from probably washing it in bathroom earlier, he could only assume that she was homeless.

"Theres a good little cafe, great chocolate cake" he stopped when he caught the frown on her face "Not a fan?"

She shook her head.

"No I know the place you're talkin about, it looks nice... I.. I don't exactly think it's a good idea after all.. I'm just going to go"

Shit, he should of thought of the fact that she wouldn't want to go into a nice place.

 _**'She's going to pass up food even as hungry as she clearly is,** _ **stubborn'**

It was actually a bit amusing to him that V, of all things would comment on someone being _stubborn_.

"A burger, from the stand down the street and what you were thinking when you knocked the shelf over"

She stopped again and he swore he could watch the struggle playing in her eyes. She wanted the food but she didn't want to talk to him. She didn't think he was an out right threat or he figured she'd of continued to run when the fence was between them. When she barely nodded, he had to suppress a smile.

"Tess"

He stopped for a moment, wanting her to think he hadn't quite heard her.

"I'm sorry?"

Her head jerked up towards him before she looked away again and continued on her side of the fence with a bit more purpose to her steps.

"Tess, my name is Tess"

She remained silent as they walked and once they finally made it away from the fence, she kept herself more than an arms length away from him.

_**'She is very weary Eddie, if we don't do this right she'll run again'** _

He wasn't sure if after they got her the food that she wouldn't bolt outright. But he thought that as long as there was imminent food, then she'd linger just long enough to get her hands on it. If he could get her talking before that, maybe she'd sit down and relax for a moment. But he'd have to play it a bit safe, maybe wait to give her the food until they were seated, get her talking before so she'd start eating as they spoke. With their burgers purchased, he escorted her to the bench and plopped down on the farthest side and crossed his leg casually over his knee and offered her the plate he'd been carrying for her.

"So _Tess_ , what makes a girl throw a shelf at a criminal"

He was actually surprised at how slowly she unwrapped the paper from around her burger. And when she kind of shrugged with a quick glance up at him he suppressed a smile.

"I like Ms. Chen and those two kids were terrified"

He nodded a bit and took bite of his burger, letting her start on her own.

"Well.. You could have hidden in the bathroom?"

He ignored the literal grunt V gave the best he could but her following snort almost seemed to prove what the Symbiote hadn't actually voiced to him. She probably hadn't even thought hiding was an option at the time.

But she didn't reply, just that snort and a possible glared at him over her burger if he'd caught the look right and then took another small bite of her burger, chewed and then quickly swallowed.

"Kids deserve to be protected. Trigger Happy didn't exactly look like he would have cared if his warning shots would have hit one of them.. And like I said, I like Ms. Chen."

He wanted to question the first part of her comment but withheld. There was more there and he knew it but he was a stranger. He didn't really think that she'd open up much more than she already was.

"Hold on, okay?"

She shifted but only raised a brow and then tipped her burger at him when she noticed he was waiting for a reply. He let a grin stretch across his face as he all but hopped up. It only took him a moment to get the drinks and fries he wanted and then he was easing back down on the bench, sat a bottle of water down and rolled it over to her. Then sat the paper tray of fries down square in the middle of them.

 

\--

 

She'd been restraining herself with the cheeseburger, wanting to stash half of it away for later today and when the fries were sat down, she'd wrapped it back up and slipped it into the top of her bag in favor of taking a few fries instead and waited for the next question. When half of the fries were picked through, she opened the water and shifted so that she was facing him.

"Is.. Is that all??"

It looked like he was fighting a possible smirk at her? Instead, he took a drink out of his cup and seemed to relax into the bench. Which was an absolute marvel because the thing was cold and hard as rock to her.

"Not at all, just tryin to be considerate... Just one or two things now and I'll go on my way"

Now she opened the bottle he'd rolled to her, listened to the snap of the seal breaking and then took a sip.

"What were you thinking when you made your move?"

She paused and met his eyes.

"Uhm... Well.. I think it started off as a 'Can I get out of the bathroom unnoticed' and when I did, it changed to 'can I get him away from the counter and farther away from the kids'.. And then I did"

He was now fully smiling at her.

"So just one 'can I do it' after another?.. What made you choose the shelf?"

She shrugged and then grabbed another fry.

"Something big to knock something big down.. I had hoped that the gun would get knocked out of his hand but it didn't really didn't work out as smoothly as I wanted"

Smoothly meant that she wouldn't of been sore or had twinges of pains in her shoulder and ribs.. Also the salt from the fries wouldn't be burning her lip like hell right now.

The rain drop that hit her cheek had her jerking her head up to take in the now cloudy sky.

"Shit"  
  
His head whipped up from the shared fries to look at her before several more drops started to come down around and on them. Instantly she was grabbing the water and throwing the strap of her bag over her shoulder.

"This has been nice and all but I have to go.. Dammit if I would have know I would of-"

In a matter of seconds rain was practically pouring down onto them.

"Fuck!"

She practically jumped over the bench to sprint to the nearest thing that kept the rain from drenching her clothing even more. She however, didn't expect Eddie to be huddling under the same spot a moment later.

"I didn't think that it was supposed to rain today"

Shaking out her arms she sighed. Usually she knew when it was going to rain, the wind held the scent of it and she always, _always_ latched onto that scent when it came through but she hadn't today... Then again, she hadn't really had a moment to really pay attention to it today.. Especially within the past hour or so.

Usually, rain was welcome.

It helped her sleep, it calmed her nerves and cleared her mind. But when it was cold at night and wet or damp clothing were involved? You got sick and she couldn't afford to get sick. And currently, it wasn't just cold at night anymore, it was getting closer and closer to winter and she wasn't looking forward to it, at all. She figured she at least had the luxury of not being stuck in a Indiana or Ohio winter though.

Maybe she could find some empty building to shack up in once it did? Some shady person would probably give her some kind of gross deal in order to have an apartment with heat but that wasn't even the slightest bit appealing to her. Leaning back against the wall, she watched the sky and didn't realize she'd started to run her knuckles over her skin until she'd already settled into the rhythm of their normal trail. Neck to jaw, jaw line to lips, reverse and then repeat. A million different options filtered through her mind, under bridges worked in rain and mild temperature. She had a couple roof tops that she'd found to slip up to on nice evenings. She was so wrapped up in her thoughts that she actually forgot that Eddie was sharing the same space as her.

"Hey? You good?"

She jumped, dropped her hand away from her face and glanced at him.

"Yeah.. Just thinking"

He regarded her for a moment and then nodded before looking up at the sky that she'd been lost in.

"What song would you of listened to right before walking out of the bathroom"

She jerked to look at him, surprised and not hiding the confusion she felt at all.

" _Huh?_ "

He glanced back down at her, a smile tugging on his lips.

"At Ms. Chens, what song would you have listened to before walking out of the bathroom to throw a shelf on someone twice your size?"

She didn't know where the laugh came from but it bubbled out of her without even a chance of her stopping it.

"I? I don't? I don't know?"

A serious face turned to her but still she could see the humor in his eyes.

"I'll give you a minute to think about it"

She blinked a few times, watching him as he turned away to look back up at the sky. What song would she have listened to before going out of the bathroom? What, song..? The words kept replying in her head as she mentally ran through all the songs on her iPod.

"If I had known what I was going to do before I walked out.. It'd of been something along the lines of Adrenalize Me by In This Moment for the air of it.. But not knowing, Shatter Me by Lindsey Stirling"

"Hmmm"

She looked back at him to find his hand to his mouth, he glanced at her before shrugging almost sheepishly. It was oddly a bit adorable but she refused to let herself linger on that thought for more than a moment.

"Okay I don't know either of those songs"

She watched him for a moment before sighing and crouched to set her bag on the ground. It took her a moment to dig through her bag to the second layer, then another to dig around to find her iPod. When she stood to find him watching her, she held out the device and smiled.

"Lucky for you, I'm feeling a bit generous.. So I guess I can share em with you"

Honestly, it was the least she could do for him feeding her and unknowingly giving her a low dose of normalcy. Even if it was supposed to be in exchange for her answering a few of his questions.


	4. Chapter 4

_**'She is sharing with us!'** _

A moment later, the first song she'd mentioned came on and he silently listened to it. It was fitting that she'd of play it if she had known what she was going to do. It would of been perfect to amp up and get ready to cause mayhem. Or at the very least, motivate her to use a shelf as a weapon.

V was absolutely loving it.

When it was over, he raised a brow when she didn't start playing the second.

"This one... Is.. It's.. Important I guess"

He could tell that it was, whatever she heard in the song meant something for her. He watched as she closed her eyes and leaned back against the wall as the song finally started up. He might of learned more about her with this song alone. The lyrics themselves held various emotions to them but the music, the violin and then drops. They made you feel the sound inside of you, feel the emotion of it in your veins.

_**'She's lonely'** _

The music on it's own felt lonely. This was her favorite song, or at least one of them. He could see it in how she was leaning there. Yeah, she probably was. He looked at the rings under hey eyes and recalled how she'd absently ran her knuckles over her skin earlier when she'd been lost in thought.

No she was definitely alone and feeling it. She looked a bit like how he felt when Anne had left him all that time ago..

_**'Eddie?'** _

He ignored the concern in the voice as the song ended. He watched as she carefully tucked the iPod back into her bag, struggle with her hands buried in it for a moment before closing it and tugging the strap back over her shoulder. She'd run off, soon after this. Slip away to where ever she thought was safe and sleep maybe.

_**'This rain isn't going to stop anytime soon'** _

Yeah, looking at the sky and how it was coming down didn't look too good. He didn't turn completely to watch her when she started moving again, just watched out of the corner of his eye. She stood a couple of steps away from, patting her arms, probably testing the dampness of her sweater.. The scornful look on her face definitely meant that it was much too damp for her own liking.

And it was going to get cold tonight.

Shit.

 

\--

 

Where was she going to go to dry her clothes and find a place to nap before it was night and she had to be more alert? And when the hell was the rain going to go away so that she could get out from under this awning. Away from Eddie before she started to actually enjoy the company...

No, she was already enjoying talking to him, as strange the conversation was so far. He surprised her with the question about the song, pulling her out of her mind long enough to not stress over something that she'd continued to stress about but eternally and in a way that didn't even really let her know she was stressing over it until she was about to panic again. Not to mention that he wasn't a mousy looking man and still, she didn't feel like he was a threat to her. Not like some other men, even smaller men.

Hell, some of the men she'd know through out most of her life even set or on edge. But he was a stranger, Eddie the reporter. She'd known at most, a couple of hours. She was always, always on guard with male strangers. What about this guy, in a literal leather jacket, stubble, boots... He honestly looked like someone that she should avoid..

But maybe it was his eyes... Those blue green eyes that seemed to hold warmth and kindness.. Despite his appearance making him look cold and unapproachable. Though, he also looked a bit like a bit of a geek maybe? Peeking at him she decided that wasn't quite it.. He looked like he could be a bit of a mischievous little imp if he wanted to be..

A streak of light drew her attention back over head and when thunder rolled only moments later, she sighed again.

"It isn't going to let up any time soon, is it"

All she wanted to do was curl up in a soft place, in a warm, not damp sweater and fall asleep. She always missed her bed. The soft sheets she'd found and loved, the possible suffocation risk pile of pillows and all those soft warm blankets she hoarded.

"No, it doesn't really look like it"

Another streak of lightning, moments later rolling thunder followed. Well, as nice as a prolonged conversation was, she couldn't just.. Stand there with him anymore, if the rain wasn't going to let up, she was going to get soaked regardless. When she went to step away, a light grip on her sweater above the elbow stopped her but it vanished the second she registered it and stopped.

When she turned, he was holding out a card to her.

"Just in case you find yourself in another interesting situation"

She looked at the card extended to her for a moment before slowly taking it. He smiled, gave her an exaggerated bow and was off into the rain before she could continue on her way. She watched him walk off for a moment more before looking at the card in her hand.

"Eddie Brock"

Well shit, the Eddie Brock that everyone had something to say about? Fans and haters alike, talked about it all. He was damned good at ferreting out information about things and people.. Which really wasn't good for someone that had a gaping hole in her history and nothing to fill it with but lies.. Or worse, the insanity that the truth was. Then again, this world was littered with people and creatures from other worlds, other _planets_ right? Was one more misplaced person such a big deal?? She figured maybe it could be, depending on who was involved she guessed.

She looked over the number and paused. She didn't have a phone that she could use to reach out to him if she needed to.. But still, she decided that maybe committing the number on it to memory wasn't such a bad idea..

 

\--

 

They'd left before her, at V's insistence.

_**'Let her watch us leave, it'll put her at ease and then we can watch her'** _

He couldn't believe he was actually letting V talk him into.. No he wasn't letting V do anything actually, he was going along with it almost happily. Logically speaking, he was worried about her. What he saw in her eyes made him want to reach out... Lawfully speaking however, they were stalking her and he doubted she'd enjoy that knowledge very much.

Not with how cautious he realized she was. For days, they ended up trailing her. Watched her move through crowds almost unnoticed by the majority of people. She was small and unassuming and most importantly she knew how to fade away, knew how to not draw attention to herself. She lifted small things from large name stores with a quiet and skilled ease.

But then, with stores like Ms. Chens, she scrounged together change she collected or found to pay for what she left the store with. 

_**'I'm a thief'** _

V echoed the statement as a snort inside his head.

_**'Thieves don't care where they steal from'** _

He agreed.

Every day they tailed her until she found the location she wanted to bed down in during the day. Always during the day he noted, she never slept at night. Then he noticed that before she'd sleep sometimes she'd recited something, then she'd pull out a piece of paper and look over it.

_**'Your card, she's memorizing your number!'** _

He wasn't sure how V knew that from their distance but it didn't seem like too much of a stretch.

"In case of an emergency probably"

_**'But she doesn't have a phone'** _

Yeah he wondered about that himself but at least she was taking a precaution. Using it as a life line. At least now she had one she could use if she had to.


	5. Chapter 5

Every day she moved through the city for the past week.. She felt like she was being followed, watched. It tugged at the back of her mind and prompted her to be more careful.

  
To be, less visible somehow.

But still, that feeling was there. Not _all_ of the time but she was good at honing on to the feeling now when it fell back in and it almost always fell back over her at least once and hung around for a good couple of hours. The one day it didn't she actually missed it... The semi regularity of it, regularity of anything now was far too tempting of a thing. That was why Eddie Brock was too dangerous to trifle with.

Who needed a reporter finding out that she wasn't supposed to exist? That she stole and had absolutely no way to prove who she was? It was one of the many things that she'd told herself as she spent time memorizing the number on his card. Another thing that she considered was the fact that he was a guy and she didn't really trust guys. Men were dangerous. Especially if you were alone and no one would miss you.

Even if nothing about him had set off those alarms when he'd been with her. He hadn't felt like sandpaper against her mind or like she'd walked through an electrified spider web. Which usually meant they were okay, but still.

"It's not as chilly today"

She smiled at Ms. Chen as she sat the three dollars in change on the counter, a bit thankful for her pulling her out of her head with the comment.

"Yeah, it isn't too bad"

When she went to hand her the 13 cents back, she wanted to wave it off.. Say to leave it for the next person that came in short but instead she accepted it with a nod, slipped it into her front pocket but as she went to grab the bar from the counter a hand settled over hers.

"You're looking pale today, are you sure you're feeling okay?"

Fingers gripping the bar she nodded and forced the next smile. She'd been feeling a bit off but decided if she could ignore it, it wasn't anything too important to worry about.. But if Ms. Chen was expressing concern over her appearance, it meant she was going to have to put on a better front.

"I'll be fine, probably just a bit of a cold with all of the rain lately"

Protein bar in hand she headed for the door as quickly as she could. She'd made it half way down the side walk when she felt like she was being watched again. She ripped the packaging of the bar and found a decent area to pause without disrupting the flow of people around her.

She always tried to pin point the eyes and _always_ failed. But part of her wanted them to know that she felt their gaze.

Taking a bite she watched the people across the street before shifting to lean against the wall behind her. She chewed slowly as she moved her focus to her side of the street then upwards, reminding herself that just because it was high up didn't mean that there wasn't someone in a window or on the roof top.

  
No one ever looked up or down in horror movies.

  
She switched to the buildings across the street and swallowed her next bite. No shadows, no figures or moving curtains. No movement bobbing below the roof tops to indicate that anyone was there on either sides. Frowning, she continued to eat her bar and let her eyes sort of unfocus on the area around her, hoping that it'd let them get drawn to suspicious movement. It took her a moment to refuse her eyes in tracking the movement of the people walking on the sidewalk. After a while of nothing aside from several random birds coming to window ledges to rest, she gave up on the scene in front of her and went to look at the bases of the buildings around her instead.

  
But there were no little half windows into basements and still, the feeling of being watched settled on her skin in an almost tangible way. Maybe she was losing her mind in her self imposed isolation? She wasn't starving, so it wasn't that.. She ate enough, or at least what she thought was enough.. She guessed it could of been caused by whatever she had come down with lately but she was mostly positive that she hadn't run a fever. That and she'd felt the eyes following her way before she'd started to feel off?

Shaking her head a bit she continued to eat and gave up on it. 

  
When half the bar was done, she wrapped it back up and put it in her pocket for later and then she was off again.

 

\--

 

_**'She knows we're watching her'** _

  
Not for the first time since they had started trailing her, she had seemed to notice them. Not that she ever spotted them.  
He was way too used to trailing people for that, not to say that she hadn't gotten close to spotting him once when they had first started keeping an eye on her. He hadn't expected her to whirl around and survey the area around her. Luckily, V had caught her shifting in time for them to go unseen by her.

_**'She has good instincts, sharp senses'** _

  
Well, she was living on the street, there was a layer of paranoia to that.

  
_**'EDDIE!'**_

  
He hadn't expected V's voice to be a literal yell in his head, he was about to ask him what was wrong when his body started moving forward with new purpose. That's when he spotted Tess toppling over against the building next to her. V had them gotten half way to her already, another couple of lunging steps while dodging people and he was beside her..

  
"Hey, hey are you okay?"

  
Her hand flattened on the brick and she leaned against it, taking a shallow breath.

  
"I'm ok- I just got dizzy, I just need a-a moment"

  
When his hand sat on her shoulder she looked up, glazed and almost unfocused eyes met his.

  
"Eddie?"

  
_**'She's too warm Eddie'**_

"Tess, what's wrong?"

  
Whatever reply she had wanted to say, was muffled and almost distant before she shook her head slightly.

  
"I.. I think I just need to rest, it's been... Cold and wet the past couple.. Of days"

  
Shit shit shit.

  
When she went to take a step away, she swayed and he caught her to wrap an arm around her shoulders to keep her steady. When someone came in close, he thanked them for their concern but told them he had her, she was a friend of his. 

  
"Hold on okay? Lets get you somewhere to sit down hm?"

  
It was easy guiding her to the bench a little ways from them and when she sat, he knelt in front of her.

  
"Does anything hurt?"

  
She mumbled a no and closed her eyes as he pressed his hand against her forehead. He didn't miss how she leaned into the touch.

  
"You're burning up, we got to get you to a doctor"

  
She might of been ready to tell him no, he might of seen the word form on her mouth until she fell forward and he had to catch her. Without even thinking, he was pulling out his phone and dialing.

Two hours later, he was sitting in a hospital room, Tess out cold on the bed and Dan was checking her over once again.

  
"But blood tests say it's a common viral infection.. Normally, it would pass on it's own but considering her situation. She just didn't have the ability to let it go with rest, so her body is making her whether she wants to or not.. She's also a bit dehydrated and definitely eating the bare minimum of what she should be."

  
_**'She's too stubborn'** _

  
It was ironic to him that V of all beings would call someone out _repeatedly_ , on being stubborn.

  
"So she's good to go?"

  
Dan shook his head.

  
"No, she needs an IV and supervision to make sure it doesn't escalate into something more severe, especially in this weather. It was good you got her in when you did."

  
He watched him as the IV was hooked up, lips pressing together hard.

  
"Dan.. I don't think she's gonna want to sit around like you want her to though..."

 

\--

 

She was warm and comfortable, that was when she realized there was an issue. Then she remembered collapsing and Eddie asking her if she was okay. All she could remember after that was him looking up at her and leaning into his hand when he'd placed it on her forehead and thinking that it felt nice. She rolled, felt the blankets over her going with her and fought the urge to let herself drift back to sleep. Especially when she noticed the sounds around her.

  
Eddie had brought her to the hospital, fuck.

  
As slowly as she could, she opened her eyes all while making sure no one else was around her. When she thought the coast was clear, she was throwing her legs over the side of the bed and throwing the blanket away from her, until she heard someone tsking behind her.

  
Slowly turning around she found Eddie, elbows on his knees and chin resting on his hands shaking his head a bit.

  
"The doc says you need rest"

  
Yeah she needed rest, she always needed some sort of rest but she couldn't rest  _here_ in a freaking hospital. Where people wanted your name and social and medical history, contact information and fucking money or insurance to pay for shit.

  
"I.. I don't" she was up the moment she saw her bag on the chair beside him "I need to leave"

  
Her heart was racing. He let her get to her bag without moving even an inch but placed a hand on her forearm before she could move away.

  
"Dans got you okay, he's a friend"

  
No. _Nope,_ whoever Dan was he couldn't have her. They were going to find out that she didn't belong there weren't they? They were going to think she was at best, there illegally and take her in before shipping her off. To where? Where could they send her if they didn't know where she was from? But with all the alien talk and Gods popping up in this world, there were probably worse options. Options involving said aliens and Gods and the people that associated with them or dealt with the unwanted ones. Did they lock up people that popped into existence in this world? 

  
She jerked away harder than she'd intended and shook here head.

  
"No no no. I don't have money.. I don't-" she stopped shaking her head.

  
She wanted to continue talking, part of her wanted someone else to know what she was struggling with coming to terms with or at least help her make sense of it so she knew if she'd lost her mind or not. She really wanted to know she wasn't crazy but the unknown reaction, the unknown of that entire situation was as terrifying as drowning again. She forced a smile, it probably looked a bit rueful honestly, definitely a bit pained at least.

  
"Besides I feel fine now and I can't.. Shouldn't be here, so I'm going to leave" she was eyeing him as she took a slow step backwards "And.. You'll let me... Right?"

  
If she got out of here fast enough-

  
"Knowing Eddie, he probably would but he doesn't really get a say in it.. You really do need to stay so we can make sure that it doesn't turn into pneumonia"

  
She spun so fast towards the new voice that her bag almost caused her to do a full 360 as it swung around her.

  
"I'm Dr. Lewis, it's nice to meet you"

  
She ignored the hand that was offered to her in favor of gripping her arms so tight she thought that maybe they'd actually bruise later. Anything to tramp down the panic that was starting to shoot through her veins.

  
"I want to check myself out, I'll sign a liability waiver"

  
It came out just as panicked as it sounded in her head, also she realized that signing her name could potentially become a problem? But a fake name would pretty much amount to the same as her real name if she thought about it hard enough.. Did it really matter honestly? 

  
He looked behind her as though Eddie would give him some sort of answer, or persuade her maybe? Before meeting her own again.

  
"I really don't advise it-"

  
"Dutifully noted and briefly considered but I still want that waiver"


	6. Chapter 6

_**'She's starting to panic.. If we don't get her out of here she isn't going to trust us'** _

  
He had seen it the moment she'd woken up and realized where she was. Saw the intense need to run and figured that she'd even take the window if it was a safe enough distance from the ground.

  
He could also see if at least for a split second, the want to reach out before her jaw set and she steeled herself.

  
"Look you're still sick, we have to set you up on an antibiotic in order to take care of it properly and this is no weather to be out on the street recovering"

  
He watched the restraint she used to prevent herself from flinching at Dans hard statement at the end and her jaw snapped closed so hard he could hear it from where he was standing. She was so rigid she could see her practically trembling from the strain of it. V was right if she couldn't get out or they didn't help her leave like she wanted, she'd never let her guard down with them ever again.

  
"I can look after her.. I mean she can stay with me?"

  
The words were out of his mouth before he could even stop them, when she was looking at him again he shifted and put his hands up a bit in a helpless shrug. He hoped it would at least put her at ease a little.

  
"You can crash on my couch, I'll be out for work most of the time anyway and this way, Dan will let you leave"

  
_**'Smart smart, good move we'll keep her close'** _

  
He wasn't so sure why V was so insistent on her, could it of been some weird sort of infatuation? It had definitely started because of the scene that he was adamant on them watching at Ms. Chens. He knew _he_ wanted to help because she was in trouble and if he could, then why not?

  
V on the other hand, he had no idea what the Symbiotes motives were. Aside from Anne in the beginning, V hadn't really shared an interest in people aside from who could be eaten and who couldn't but he'd figured that it was mostly for his benefit then. Something that helped the host helped the Symbiote after all and they had all known about how he had felt where Anne was involved.

She was watching him with widened eyes that surprisingly, didn't hold as much suspicion in then as he'd expect. Plus, she wasn't making her way into hyperventilating anymore.

  
"I can sign the waiver" he turned to Dan "you can release her to me? With me?? And in four, five days? You can leave"

  
He ended the sentence as he turned back to meet her eyes. Watched as they turned thoughtful he hoped, though they may have been a tad bit more calculating than he'd prefer.

  
The tension wasn't gone but it had definitely lessened a little bit as she turned back to Dan. And there was definitely a bit of doubtful hope in her voice when she finally spoke again.

  
"W-will that work?"

  
The man sighed, wiping his hand across his face before meeting his gaze.

  
"A week" he paused and looked back to her "But I will be stopping in randomly to make sure the antibiotics are working"

  
Along with to make sure she was still there, he knew.

  
She looked away from both of them then but nodded.

  
"O-okay"

  
Needless to say, the whole way over to his bike he was sure she was going to take off even with V assuring that she wasn't going to.. He wasn't sure how the Symbiote knew but she followed beside and a step behind him silently until they finally got to his parked bike. 

  
"Pfh"

  
When he turned to her in question she was looking it over and then back to him.

"You know.. You do look the type to have a bike"

  
He was picking the helmet up with a bit of a laugh in his voice.  
  
  
"What you mean by that?"

 She pretty much just waved her hands in his general direction at the question.

"All of that, pretty much reeks of it"

He shook his head and laughed.

"I don't know if I should be flattered or offended at that honestly? But here"

  
She looked at the black helmet he was holding out for her to take and then back up at him, arms not moving an inch from where they'd been this entire time. One firmly holding the strap of her bag over her shoulder and the other resting on top of said bag.

  
"Or you can wear it and I can not have to think about smacking you in the back of the head with _your own_ helmet when you stop?"

  
_**'She will be fine Eddie and you know it'** _

  
He hesitated but slowly brought the helmet back.

  
"Just this once"

  
She shrugged and watched him sling his leg over the bike, when she didn't move close he raised a brow glancing back at her.

  
"Not scared are you?"

  
He wanted it to be a mocking tone, something to taunt her a bit and pull her out of her own mind a little but she surprised him by actually laughing. 

  
"It isn't the motorcycle you gotta worry about Mr. Brock, it's whether or not the person in control knows what they're doing"

  
She slid on behind him easily and he grinned when he felt her fingers slip through the belt loops on his jeans after carefully arranging her self and her bag between them.

  
_**'She should just lean into us'** _

  
He knew V was perfectly aware of personal space and how people adhered to it, particularly with new people but decided a reminder might be important. Especially if she was going to be in their space for the next few days.

  
The ride to the apartment was quick and chilly but he quickly led her up the stairs to his apartment and swung open the door for her to head in ahead of him.

  
**_'We should have cleaned'_ **

  
He grimaced at the comment but it wasn't like they had thought that they were going to have company any time soon.

  
She was quiet as he showed her around, he may have caught a slight flinch at the state of the bathroom and he definitely felt a bit of shame at it. She sat her bag down beside the couch when he'd gone into his room to get blankets and when he was back, she was by the window, inspecting his dying plant he probably should have thrown away ages ago.

  
She definitely pitied the thing.

  
"Here's some blankets and a pillow, I'm a bit light on food so I'm going to run out and get dinner... You'll be okay on your own?"

  
She looked up, finger brushing the plant gently and arched a brow at him.

  
"You can shower if you want?"

  
The sarcasm vanished off of her face the instant he said it.

  
"Not unless I can clean up the bathroom first"

  
He could practically feel V groaning inside of him and he nodded. The Symbiotes own displeasure coursing through his veins, which was unnecessary because his own shame was definitely enough to deal with. 

  
"You have cleaning supplies right?"

  
Instead of answering he went into the kitchen and pulled out the bucket he had some miscellaneous cleaning items in and sat it on the counter.

  
"You don't have to do this, I'll clean it when I get back and then you can-"

  
The supplies were off of the counter before he even realized she had crossed the space over to him.

  
"Think of it as a thank you for signing the papers to get me out of the hospital"

  
_**'I think she likes you Eddie'** _

  
Once they were out of range from the apartment door, he made sure to remember to tell V that simply because she was taking pity on his state of bathroom cleanliness and was thanking him the only way she could think of, didn't mean that she was flirting with them.

  
V didn't really agree with him but the small argument was dropped with relative ease once he had a couple chocolate bars added to their pile of groceries.

 

\--

 

She'd scrubbed the bathroom down completely. Everything she could think of, everything that she could possibly scrub was scrubbed and wiped clean.

  
She started with the tub and walls, moved to the sink and toilet and then she wiped down all of the walls. The last thing that she could do aside from the ceiling, was scrub the tiles on the floor.

  
Annnd since she wasn't tall enough, the ceiling was going to have to wait until she could get a step ladder or some swiffer mop to finagle and wipe it down good.

  
Once she was done the place smelled clean, sure it didn't sparkle but she was pretty positive that no amount of effort was going to make the place sparkle.

  
A quick glance out of the bathroom to assure herself that Eddie hadn't returned yet and she was dragging her bag into the bathroom and was in the shower as quickly as she could get into it. The moment hot water touched her skin, she practically moaned at the feel of it.

  
She'd run out of her stolen goods to wash with but Eddie had the basics, so she had no problem making due with them. But as badly as she wanted to enjoy the water and heat, she turned it off and grabbed the towel Eddie had gotten for her before leaving.

  
Soon she was back out on the couch, her cleanest leggings and favorite over sized shirt on. It wasn't too long before she actually dozed off curled up against the left side of the couch. She wasn't out all that long, or at least she didn't think she was before something clinking onto the coffee table in front of her jerked her out of sleep.

  
When she sat up sharply, Eddie put his hands up and eased his way over to the other side of the couch before pointing to the plate in front of her.

  
"Didn't mean to startle you, just wanted you to know food was here"

  
She looked back down at the table and stared at the tatter-tots and burger there. Glancing over at him, she watched as he pulled his own plate up and started to eat.

  
"So is it the potatoes or the burger that are your favorite food?"

  
He 'hmmed' over his mouth full and tilted his head.

  
"Well, it was burgers and fries before and now it's burgers and tots?"

  
He swallowed and sat up straighter.

  
"I could get something else?"

  
She actually chuckled at it, he genuinely looked concerned that she wouldn't want what was in front of her. As if she was ever in the position to be so picky about food.

  
"No, if it's potatoes I'll like it. Best most versatile vegetable ever and completely unappreciated"

  
After he finished his food he sat with her for a moment longer as she slowly ate her own, then almost sheepishly apologized to her.

  
"I've got a bit of work I need to finish, so I'll be out for a good while"

  
His eyes, God. It had been a while since she'd looked into someones eyes as they fully connected and interacted with her. She was at the forefront of his attention and she could see it. It was both warming and a bit unsettling at the same time because of how unused to it she was.

  
She forced herself to break eye contact shrugged before settled back down into the spot she'd warmed.

  
"Okay"

  
He hesitated, took a step away before redirecting back to the table to grab the plates. Then he was grabbing his jacket again and scooping up his keys. At the door he paused again as he opened it.

  
"You will be here, right"

  
Looking back up the small loop-sided smile that stretched her lips had caught her absolutely off guard. He was half out the door, his head and shoulders still in the apartment and again, genuine concern still etched in his eyes as he waited for her reply.

  
"Yes"

  
He kept eye contact with her for a few moments more before slipping out the door and shutting it. She heard the keys jingle and the lock latch from the outside.

When she didn't feel the twinge of unease at the sound, she let her head fall back against the couch with a silent sigh. Of course she'd debated on taking off while he was gone but he'd helped her out, had given her his trust that she'd keep her word and she didn't really want to break that.

Plus, it was nice and warm and she had a couch with soft blankets to wrap up in for the first time in what felt like years.

  
She sat there for a moment, listening to the sounds of the city outside the window. After a while, she dug her iPod out and slid the headphones in. After a few songs, she slipped it over to the storm playlist that she used to use to sleep and let the sound wash over her. 

  
It had to of been the most relaxed she'd ever been before falling asleep.

 

\--

 

By the time he'd gotten back to the apartment it was probably nearing 3am, he carefully opened the door and stepped inside. He'd actually expected her to jump awake like she had earlier but as he moved through the room, she remained still on the couch.

  
_**'She has music playing'** _

  
He looked at her curled up where and just stood there. How long had they trailed her and they never once saw her peacefully asleep. She was comfortable and felt secure enough that she was willing to cut off her hearing while she slept. 

  
_**'She already trusts us'** _

  
She probably didn't trust them completely or well _him_ , she didn't even know V was a part of their interactions. Definitely didn't know that V was alarmingly intrigued in her. He just hadn't done anything that would warrant her distrust so far. Not quite the same as trusting but it was on the right path.

  
As quietly as he could he moved back into his room, grabbed another blanket at then draped it over her carefully then headed off to the bathroom only to come to a full stop at what greeted him.

  
"Holy hell"

  
He hadn't even thought his bathroom could look like this, even on the odd times he had cleaned it well.

  
_**'This is a massive improvement to the grim that normally thrives here'** _

  
It smelled faintly of bleach but mostly, there was an absence of foul smells. The only thing that hadn't changed was the ceiling, which he figured she would have tackled if she had means to reach it.

  
"She said 'clean it' like she was going to straighten up, not that she was going to-"

  
He could only shake his head.

  
_**'We should let her clean the whole apartment'** _

  
"Absolutely not"

He couldn't just let her scrub down the entire place. He was trying to help her, not extort cleaning services from her. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I honestly didn't expect so many nice comments with this?? It's a bit surreal that anyone other than my two closest friends have read something I've written but thank you all so much~
> 
> I'm still trying to connect pieces I've written at different places in the story with where it is right now and I can't believe I forgot how hard it is to string things together and be happy with it? But it's getting there slowly. Alllso gonna apologize for any mistakes, the recent chapters haven't really been beta read.


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I started this fully intending smut right and then I started to try and write said smut only to realize.. Smut is hard and vaguely uncomfortable for me to write... So it's probably gonna get toned down in hopes to finish without a huge amount of chapters?? That may change if I get more comfortable but only time will tell. Not gonna stop Venom from making Eddie choke on air with possibly inappropriate comments though.

The fifth day she woke up to a note stuck to her face.

  
Literally, it was taped to her forehead.

  
Apparently missing the first two notes meant the key factor to her getting them, was to physically adhere the thing to her body. She actually snorted as she peeled it off of her forehead and flipped it over.

  
_'Gone to work and wont be back till late, make yourself comfortable'_

  
Sighing she sat up and looked around the apartment.. She'd pretty much slept all through the day after Eddie brought her to his apartment, the fever she'd been positive was gone when she'd woken at the hospital had apparently only barely subsided until nightfall. The moment her adrenaline faded out completely and the medication she had been given wore off, it had pretty much just washed back over her in full force.

  
She had been vaguely aware of Eddie being there, checking in on her occasionally but he pretty much left her to slip in and out of sleep for the most part. Which had been perfect because she'd barely been able to drag herself out of the depths of it for more than a few moments before the weight of it would drag her back down. She had only a few moments once, to realize how painfully helpless she was like this before yet again being pulled back under.

  
It hadn't been until the sun had started to set when he pulled her out of her slumber long enough to hand her a bowl of soup, a glass of water and her bottle of antibiotics with a kind but very adamant demand that she ate it all before he stationed himself at the counter with a stool and his laptop.

  
He didn't really speak for the rest of the night, instead the sounds of almost furious typing filled the air around them. Only broken by occasional pauses when he moved papers around or wrote something down with equally furious sounding scratching of a pencil or was it a pen? She hadn't really looked to know. But it always started back up just moments after he'd stopped. 

  
Not that she minded it. She hadn't really been the best company at the time herself and if she really thought about it, the sound of his typing brought about a strange sort of comfort.

  
After the warmth of the soup had spread through her and the almost rhythmic sounds of his typing fell over her senses, her mind was quickly chasing the sleep that she'd been out woken up from only briefly.

  
The next couple days it was obvious that Eddie was trying to go out of his way to make sure she was comfortable and then made himself pretty scarce to the apartment. He was clearly leaving her to her own so that she wouldn't feel awkward, or possibly he was attempting to make it so she didn't feel trapped? Was it making it awkward for him in the times that he was actually with her? She'd hoped not. She was in _his_ home, that he had opened up to her. He shouldn't of been putting himself out of sorts because of it.

  
Besides she actually felt relatively comfortable with his presence, even in the moments of silence while he worked. And like she figured when he'd first spoken to her, it was much to easy to slip into the normalcy of it all. That didn't, however lessen the guilt she felt at the situation. They spoke about simple things when they were together but she had a feeling he had more questions that he wasn't asking. Probably out of concern she figured.

He was shockingly considerate towards her, an almost complete stranger. It didn't fail to blow her mind if she let herself dwell on it for too long.

  
How was she going to pay him back for all of this?

  
He was definitely more than a little reluctant to let her clean like she had the bathroom.. She'd tried three times to persuade him into letting her do something. But he absolutely refused to let her, especially when she tried to say it'd be sort of like payment for letting her stay. She was his _guest_ apparently and he couldn't possibly let his guests clean up his messes. Even if the place seemed to spontaneously have less random piles of things and clutter than she remembered when she first arrived.

  
He only gave in when she said that she needed to do something in order to not feel like she was a burden to him.

  
The word 'burden' itself had seemed to work far better than anything else she had said before. She watched the moment she'd said it, how his eyes narrowed and seemed to focus on her face almost too.. She wasn't sure what it was actually. Just that he had seemed to read much more into it than what she'd meant and hadn't liked the implication.

  
He agreed only barely, that she could tidy up if she wanted but that she in no way had to do it. After that she pretty much had to show no weakness in the face of him telling her that it was 'unnecessary really, he didn't mind' even if it was hard to keep eye contact with the literal puppy dog eyes he was making as he said it. His lips had seemed to even be more pouty with it.

She also refused to let her eyes linger on that part of him for any amount of time. She didn't exactly think it was fair that a man got to have lips like that and the ability to use those eyes to look so.. Innocent? Innocent in a way to try and convince her that she didn't need to do anything because it would make him feel guilty.

  
She wasn't going to let him guilt her for already feeling guilty.

  
He really just kept stressing that she didn't need to pay him back for generosity and though she felt comforted by it, it didn't change the fact that she needed to do something in return. It was just who she was.

  
Unfortunately for Eddie though, he hadn't asked her what her version of 'tidy up' meant. His was probably along the lines of tossing out the trash and doing dishes, maybe dust a little bit. She had different things in mind, especially when the need to move and do something turned into an almost literal itch beneath her skin.

  
Another glance at the note she placed on the coffee table and she stood to fold the blankets before turning her attention to the kitchen area. If Eddie was going to be gone for most of the day, she was going to make herself useful. She would only be lingering on his offer for the exact amount of time that they agreed to with Dr. Lewis.  
  
  
She was going make sure to use the remaining time wisely.

  
She really did like his apartment, it wasn't actually so bad inside. Sure the building wasn't the best and the neighborhood was... Possibly not the safest but the apartment itself? It was actually was, in it's own way of course. Eddie really hadn't made use of the space like some people would, it didn't feel as lived in as a home but it still had it's appeal. In a single guy living on his own and only really eating and sleeping there kind of way. That thought only served to remind her that he was a single guy living on his own.

  
With that in mind she decided nothing would be rearranged, that wasn't something a 'guest' would do or really should do. She'd simply dust and clean and make sure there wasn't anything in the form of mold anywhere.  She kept telling herself it was the least she could do. He had opened up his personal space to a stranger simply because he'd wanted to help them out. She'd leave his room alone however, she may be in his personal space but she wouldn't go into his absolute personal area.

  
Grabbing the gloves Eddie given her from the cleaning supply bucket, she went to work with the fridge first. Inside and out, top to bottom she'd have it cleaned of grim. Then she'd tackle the rest of the place in steps.

  
By the time she finally stopped to take a breather, not only with the kitchen but with the entire living area of the place, it was only a little after 2pm and she found herself back at the window with the plant that was desperately clinging to life. She wondered what she could do for it, the soil in it looked like it could be replaced and like the pot was possibly too small for whatever root system it had but she wondered if that would be too much of a risk for it in such a fragile state?

  
So for now, she was going to give it a bit more shade. She'd had a couple close calls with plants of her own in the past but she'd taken some weird tips online and had managed to pull them back from the brink.. Maybe before she left she try could do the same for it?

  
She turned back to the apartment before her and looked at the hardwood floor.. She'd swept and mopped the area lightly but it needed some serious tending beyond that. Maybe the super had something for it?

  
But did she really want to risk finding the person? Eddie had mentioned on his quick tour of the building, mainly to show her where the laundry room was, that the man lived only a door away from where it was.

  
She'd straighten up first, make sure that the place looked great before going to find him.. Let Eddie's apartment impress him if he decided to take a look.. After a bit more prepping and dusting, she ventured out into the apartment on a quest.

  
That quest lead her to the super, who was grouchy at best and probably out right rude at worst. She wondered if maybe she'd made a mistake.

  
"And you wanted what?"

  
She physically made herself not tense and fidget under his gaze.

  
"I was wondering if you had anything that's good for cleaning the floors?"

  
He just watched her almost unblinkingly.

  
"Why would you need that?"

  
She was going to have to physically reframe herself from strangling the man too, apparently. How the hell did anything get done around here if this man was such an ass to the people living here?

  
"Because I wanted to clean them properly but I don't want to risk damaging it with the wrong thing?"

  
Now he looked interested actually.

  
"I don't normally have tenants that go that far.. Who are you again?"

  
She forced a smile.

  
"I'm a friend of Eddies and I wanted to do something nice for him as a sort of surprise"

  
She was, kind of his friend right? They were friendly towards one another. So that wasn't quite a lie, which was a relief because she normally didn't like lying unless it was absolutely necessary. He nodded after a moment and moved into out of view, she heard rustling and then he was coming out of the door and closing it behind him, container in hand.

  
"I didn't know Eddie had such good friends.. He's a bit of an odd guy that one.. I'll carry this up for you but once you're done leave it out in the hall.. I don't want to risk it staining the wrong places"

  
She actually bristled a bit at the offhanded comment, even if there wasn't any malice in his tone.. Just someone that didn't really know what to think of another person.. But still, even with the short amount of time that they'd known one another she would have been ready to jump to his defense. That alone probably should have alarmed her but she figured that with the amount of time she'd spent avoiding any sort of relationship with people outside of a quick 'Hi' and 'Bye, so that she could just sort of.. Drift away.. Meant that her starved for contact mind would desperately grasp at any chance to form a bond and Eddie had handed that to her in the form of help.

He talked to her a little bit on the way up the stairs and when he was setting it down and telling her how polish the floor correctly, she might have seen a bit of shock on his face looking around them.

  
"Last time I saw this place it was an absolute wreck"

  
The comment caught her off guard, it wasn't all that bad before she had started cleaning, honestly. The dust was killed off easily, as were the cobwebs in the corners and there wasn't any mold anywhere. It had really just needed some simple tune ups. So to say it was an absolute wreck seemed a bit harsh.

  
He shook his head and turned to her.

  
"If half of the people in this building had friends like you"

  
With that he departed, with the reminder to open the window while she used the buffer and she got down to business.

 

\--

 

 Eddie looked up at his super in surprise as he made his way up the stairs to his apartment.

  
"Martin?"

  
The man was practically beaming at him as he was coming down, carrying a tub of sorts.

"Eddie! How're you doin man?"

  
Normally Martin looked like he was about to deck a person at the drop of a hat today however, he cupped his shoulder as he went down the steps past him. It was a far cry from the normal almost indifferent air the man held when it came to him and half of the other people living in this building.

  
"I'm.. I'm good? You?"

  
He was still smiling and honestly it was a bit alarming.

  
"Not too bad Eddie, not too bad.. That friend you've got is a keeper.. Tell me if she's single so I can try and set my nephew up with her"

  
He practically tripped up the stairs at the comment and the responding roar that came from V in his mind.

  
_**'HE WILL STAY AWAY FROM HER IF HE KNOWS WHAT'S GOOD FOR HIM'**_

  
He waved Martin off and continued up the steps. Why did Martin even know that Tess was there though?

  
"V we don't really get to... That isn't.. That isn't our place?... Calm down!"

  
_**'We are looking after her, why do we not get a say in who protects her'**_

  
He tripped going up the steps again. He and V were both aware of the knife that she had in her bag, Tess was probably more ready to defend herself than most people really.. The incident at Ms. Chens all but proved she'd handle it on her own if she had to.

  
"It isn't like we're baby sitting some kid or pet though, we don't just get to decide that for people and you know it"

  
_**'We can protect her though. Better than anyone else.'**_

  
The ending statement of that held so much assurance and pride he could only shake his head. V was definitely preening at the idea that they were the strongest people she could possibly know. The concept that V thought that _they_ were the ones to protect her however?

  
He didn't even get to finish that thought because as soon as the door was open, the site that greeted him cut it out of his mind almost as quickly as it had came up.

  
"Holy shit"

  
She all but bolted off the couch and when she looked at his face there was a wave of apologies coming from her.

  
"I'm sorry if I over stepped, I just wanted to do something-"

He cut her off as he dropped his jacket on the chair he'd moved by the door.

  
"To _thank_ me?"

  
He was careful not to sound too much anything. Nice and neutral hopefully maybe a bit confused but he couldn't help that, he was a little confused.

  
She was practically wringing her hands together.

  
_**'Thank her Eddie, she thinks you're mad!'** _

  
"I didn't move anything around, just cleaned and put them back and I didn't go into your room. I thought that this was enough personal space and that would be crossing a line but you had said I could tidy up but- shit I'm sorry. I didn't really tell you that.. I hadn't really meant tidy up like tidying up because you wouldn't agree otherwis-"

  
_**'EDDIE!'**_

  
He caught her hands and carefully made her stop gripping them together.

  
"Thank you"

  
Wide eyes looked up at him but she didn't pull her hands away from his grip, it actually seemed like she hadn't registered that he was holding them at all.

  
"I? You looked mad.. Are you sure?"

  
He broke contact himself and started to walk around, taking in the place.

  
"I think that was the first time that I had ever seen Martin look anything other than utterly pissed off at the world. He definitely likes you and looking at all of this, I can definitely see why"

  
The floor looked absolutely amazing, the whole place actually smelled clean. It _looked_ clean, hell how did she manage to leave everything exactly as he had it but still make it look better?!

  
"I just.." she kept looking so guilty "I got it in my head that I had to do something right? Because you helped me and then you offered up your couch when you didn't have to.. And you keep feeding me? And it's good to be useful right"

  
The last of it came out with a bit of an awkward laugh.

  
_**'She believes she's useless'**_

  
Yeah, she may not of meant it like that when she said it but he knew the tone enough to know the feeling behind the words, even if she wasn't fully aware of it herself. It was the same as when she'd talked about being a burden. The anger to V's voice about it however? He was really going to have to have a long conversation with the Symbiote.

  
Get some things straightened out before things got weird.... Or at least weirder than following her for a week and then rushing her off to the hospital, only to have her crash at his place on impulse. And the latter part of that was all purely his doing, no Symbiote intervention needed.

  
"I know saying this isn't going to matter but you don't have to pay me back for helping you"

  
She definitely didn't look like someone that believed him. Skepticism was well more than evident on her face. When she opened her mouth to reply, he stopped her and continued.

  
"But if you want to clean my apartment so bad I'm not gonna stop you, hell I'll even give you permission to take on the bedroom but you're still recovering and you need to remember that" he paused at a sudden realization "Now that I think about it though, you didn't exactly tell me what you mean by 'tidy up' when I agreed"

  
_**'She like's loopholes we must be specific with her from now on'**_

  
"That's your space space though.. You've got all your.. Personal things? In there?"

  
Her choice of wording was carefully picked as she went along. She wasn't flustered saying it, they were facts being stated just a bit cautiously. 

  
"Nah, it's fine"

  
_**'We like the idea of her in our room'** _

  
It took an immense amount of effort to remain neutral and not choke at the comment. The Symbiote was taking things in a direction he didn't really expect damn, what hell V.

  
She pressed her hands together and pressed her fingers to her lips.

  
"Eddie. You're going to let a random woman, clean your room.. Your private space... If I'm cleaning, I will clean it.. I think I proved that with well"

  
The realization to her words hit him.

  
"Oh! Well I'd go in and.. I mean there isn't really anything that.."

  
Did he even have anything in his room that shouldn't be seen by her?

  
Hell he didn't even think that he had any condoms in there, he hadn't even attempted start any relationships since Anne had made it clear she was happy with Dan. The whole Symbiote thing had kind of taken full precedence over anything else. Plus? He wasn't sure how it would work out, a relationship with someone that didn't know that there were more parties involved in it than appearance wise said? He could tell V it wasn't a 'we' situation but that wasn't exactly something he was comfortable with. V would be involved regardless, it was _both_ of their body after all.

  
"Actually, you could probably go in there right now if you wanted"

  
She snorted as if she didn't even believe it.

  
" _Really_ "

  
_**'I like this side of her.. She wants to prove you wrong, I can see it in her eyes'**_

  
He crossed his arms to match her own.

  
"Really"

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not featured was Venom pestering Eddie about how the previous notes were missed/ignored by her.
> 
>  _ **'What is the point if she doesn't see them'**_  
>  "It isn't like we can attach them to her V"  
>  _ **'Oh that's a good idea!'**_  
>  "No! No it isn't! It wasn't even an idea!"  
>  _ **'It would be effective'**_  
>  "..."


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I forgot how frustrating it is to try and get back into a flow of things with writing and don't like anything I've come up with so far. Heavily criticizing myself and what's new is ack but I had to have the engagement pop up. 
> 
> Also Lindsey Stirlings release of The Upside ft. Elle King turned into an endgame song for this fic somehow and I don't even know how it happened. Even make a playlist with music to help (hopefully) inspire me with more called Upside Drowned.

An hour later, he was helping her sort through his clothing. He'd been shocked at how quickly and efficiently she tackled the room, directing him to where his attention should be focused more while making sure whatever she was doing was okay with him.

  
Over all, as they spoke and laughed he found that he didn't mind cleaning. Well, compared to what he considered cleaning, he supposed that this was actually a full scale room scrub down and reorganization.

  
"This is really nothing compared to some of the messes I'd have to handle on my own while working in a hotel"

He paused, mostly so that he could sneak a look over at her.

  
"I'm not entirely sure that that is supposed to make me feel any better"

  
Her slight chuckle had him smiling more to himself than anything else. He liked hearing about her, liked hearing her laugh. Mostly he liked catching glimpses of her comfortable.

  
_**'This is good'** _

  
V had stated repeatedly that it was 'good' that Tess was able to be so at ease inside 'their personal space' like she was.

  
"Uhm"

  
He looked up at the new tone to her voice and stopped short of what he was doing. Then tried not to freeze in panic.

  
She held a dry blood covered shirt from her finger tips. Any possible lie caught in his throat as her eyes looked it over. Damn, he would forget to trash the thing after V and him stopped that mugger.. But that had been the night before they'd rushed Tess to the hospital, the shirt had been dropped and completely forgotten.

  
**_'It is not so bad, there is hardly any blood on it'_ **

  
Hardly any blood on it.. There was definitely just a little too much blood on it. No nosebleed would have caused that. He didn't even think a fight with two other people would have caused that much blood.  
  
  
"So ah... I think that hydrogen peroxide might save this but you'll have to soak it for a while.... But this isn't you blood is it? Or _is_ it? You aren't gonna end up being a murderer are you"

  
**_'Don't look so panicked Eddie'_ **

  
Don't look so panicked. How was he supposed to.. Even if the last of her comment had been said with humor evident in her voice.

  
"Of course not! And no... Well some of it.. I got jumped a couple weeks back while investigating a lead and I just forgot about the aftermath"

  
She pursed her lips, the damned thing still hanging from her hand before she hmmed slightly.  
  


"Well have to start a whole other pile because you're not going to want to wash this with the others"

  
He blinked, jaw slightly slackened at the dismissal.

  
Surely it wasn't that easy, Tess was sharp and cautious. He knew that much just by watching her. The shirt was a literal red flag.

  
_**'You know.. Technically speaking, that is exactly what we are'** _

  
Tess easily went back into her rhythm after slipping away to apparently start soaking the shirt. He was waiting to hiss at V that no, they weren't murderers until he realized that by law.. Technically speaking, they really were pretty much murderers.. Shit.

\--

She'd been startled by the shirt but she also knew from the articles that she'd read that Eddie was involved in, that he really did put himself into dangerous situations way too often. Hell, just one piece about the Life Foundation was enough to show just how much of himself he put into the things he believed in.

  
A slightly bloody shirt shouldn't have surprised her. Also his frazzled state had been enduring to her in a way.

  
Now that she thought about it, that was a bit weird wasn't it? But it wasn't often that she got to see someone as attractive as him be a little panicked.

  
"Okay Brock, aside from the shiiirt" she tried not to grin at the look on his face when she mentioned it "I'm actually pretty surprised, you're squeaky clean"

  
She was folding the pile that he'd brought up after washing.

  
"I told you didn't I"

  
She laughed a bit at his voice.

  
"I guess you did"

  
She shook out one of his fancier looking shirts to fold properly but paused at the sound of metal clanking onto the floor near the bed. Both looked up in question, met each others eyes before they dropped down to the floor to search for whatever had caused it.

  
"I didn't see where it went but it sounded like it went over there?"

  
She moved hands and knees over to where he'd directed her, whatever it was had rolled under the bed.

  
"I think I got it hold on"

  
Her fingers snagged cold metal and she huffed in victory.

  
"Yes!"

  
She came up from her side of the bed as Eddie leaned on the other towards her and both of their eyes fell on the object swinging from the bottom of the chain.

  
"This.. Looks like an engagement right?"

  
There probably wouldn't have been a way to stop the absolute confusion in her voice.

  
"Ah.. Yeah it is.. Er or it was"

  
An engagement right, it had been an engagement ring. Had, so either the thing fell through or the person had died?! Right?! Either way, she'd just stumbled into territory she wished she hadn't.  
The Eddie that was in front of her now, wasn't the frazzled that she found cute or endearing.. The Eddie that was standing on the other side of the bed had real pain in his eyes, even if his face remained the same.

  
"I.. Was engaged once"

  
She literally choked on air at the quiet admission.

  
"Oh"

  
Well shit, what was she supposed to say to that?!

  
"I'm sorry"

  
The whole reason why she'd gotten so into cleaning with him was because it was a distraction to the feeling of guilt plaguing her... Now she'd gone and managed to bring up something that he'd clearly want to distract himself from. The guilt resumed in full force.

  
He shook his head and moved to lean against the dresser and honest to god shrugged.

  
"It.. It was a while ago... We're still good friends though, the man at the hospital is actually her new fiance"

  
Her jaw dropped, as did the necklace with the ring onto the bed so that she could rub her sternum with her knuckles.

  
"Still.. I.. That must be hard"

  
His smile at her was nothing but kind.. And she could see how much his ex still meant to him. She was actually surprised he didn't wear the ring on his dog tags.

  
"It was but Dan... He's a good man and she's happy. Once I figured out that and actually understood it" another shrug, like what had happened hadn't completely altered his life in any way at all "It was easier to accept that that part of our lives was over"

  
She felt like she couldn't swallow over the lump that had formed in her throat. Whoever the woman was clearly didn't know what she'd let go.. Maybe if she did, she'd change her mind.

  
"You gave her up"

  
It was little more than a forced whisper but he'd heard it still.

  
"It wasn't easy but knowing she was with a good man, that Dan cares about her helped and I had a friend to help me through it"

  
Another forced swallow and she was actively fighting off tears, which was actually a shock to her.. She wasn't the type that normally cried over emotional things, growing up with her family might of had something to do with that. She was more of a... Hold it all in until it dangerously exploded kind of person. She would however, bust into hideous tears if she got mad enough, which really took away the whole point in being pissed.. No one really took the angry crier seriously.

  
She had to look away, blinking furiously in order to push back the tears, internally shook herself and turned for the door.

  
"I'm gonna go check to see if the clothes are dry"

  
She practically ran out of the room.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry, work has been beyond.. Draining lately, with the wrap up of the stores remodeling and being under staffed in areas we desperately need extra hands (yet no effort to get us that help is happening and the blame falls on us low level associates for not working hard enough~), now we're moving entire isles all over again?? I ended up falling back into my rut of only sleeping and working but I'm working on getting things caught up and making myself work on things other than, well.. Work and sleeping.


	9. Chapter 9

Water was pulling her deeper down and she couldn't understand how she'd even gotten there again.

  
She tried to scream and push herself forward, tried to fight whatever force was hell bent on making her drown _yet again_ but the freezing water seemed to take away her ability to move.

  
She thrashed, choking on water as she was pulled farther and farther down. All while remembering the first time she'd went under the ice, fueling the absolute terror constricting her chest even tighter than the lack of air already was.

  
Some very small part of her mind kept flickering in and out of the back of her head, tried to tell her that what was happening had already happened, that she hadn't been in any danger before this, so it couldn't be happening now.

  
Her and Eddie had enjoyed a cheap meal from Mrs. Chens, he'd shown her around the area, cautioned her on certain locations _(some of which she already knew the dangers of, though she didn't tell him as much, he seemed to enjoy sharing his knowledge with her)_ and when they'd gotten back it'd been late enough to go to bed but not before he'd mischievously tossed a small pint of vanilla ice cream at her and settled down with his own of double chocolate brownie something. He grinned at her confusion and told her 'vanilla seemed the safest option without asking'.

  
She'd accepted and ate a couple spoonfuls with her medicine before stashing it back into the freezer, wondering how he'd slipped them by her since there hadn't been any there when she'd cleaned. He'd went to his room and she'd sat down to read one of the books Eddie had said she could borrow.

  
So how was what was happening really happening to her? It couldn't be right?

  
The logic didn't hold over the panic though. As quickly as the thoughts had flickered to life, they were drown out. It felt too real, not being able to take in even a partial breathe of air, of her limbs not moving the way they should and how it surged her terror on as she continued to fight.

  
All she knew was that she couldn't breathe, couldn't scream and she only kept going farther and farther down.  
  


\--

  
  
A strangled sound jerked Eddie from his sleep so suddenly, he had to wonder if maybe it had been V that had actually jerked their body up out of bed and he'd only woken up because of the sudden action.

  
He.. Wasn't actually sure?

  
All he knew was he'd caught the tail end of what had sounded like Tess crying out in the living room and his body was moving to the door with lightning quick reflexes and absolute determination.

  
He could feel Venoms awareness, the anticipation to fight and protect their guest and his adrenaline raced with the intention of a fight. Both of them ready to take on whatever had drawn the pain gasps from the woman on his couch, only to stop short at the discovery that an intruder wasn't what had distressed Tess at all.

  
_**'She's dreaming'**_

  
It was a slightly confused sounding statement from his partner, though he guessed the Symbiote wasn't entirely wrong in the assumption. A dream wasn't what he would call it himself though. The way she was thrashing against the blankets wrapped around her and the strangled cries and almost whimpers as she fought against whatever she was encountering screamed that it was a nightmare.

  
And a hell of a bad one too.

**_'What do we do?'_ **

  
He wasn't actually sure, should they wake her from her sleep? Or would she wake up on her own soon? Should they go back to the room to let her wake up on her own and not deal with having a witness to her terror?  
  
She cried out again, her body shifting so violently on the couch that she'd tumbled right off of it before he or even V could do anything to stop it, cutting the following scream off into a painful grunt as the impact jarred her from her sleep.  
  
Definitely not the best way to wake up from a nightmare.  
  
He was moving to help pull the tangled sheets and blankets off of her as she continued to thrash against them.  
  
"Tess? Tess are you okay?"  
  
Wide panicked eyes shot up to his and he froze.  
  
"Tess?"  
  
He watched as it took a moment for her mind to actually catch up to her body in waking up, watched as the fear morphed into confusion as she took in the room around her, practically panting for air and then as her face paled when she focused on him crouched in front of her.  
  
She slipped on the blanket still on her feet when she went to stand but braced herself with shaking arms on the couch.  
  
"I.. I need a- I need to get some fresh air I-"  
  
He knew the moment her eyes landed on the door that she'd run, he didn't know what she was going to try to run from but he knew that it was dark and way too late to even let her attempt the neighborhood right now.  
  
**_'The roof Eddie'_**  
  
He didn't even think about it as he grabbed his jacket and helped her to her feet, he pretended not to notice how her legs about gave out on her. Instead he draped the jacket over her shoulders and offered her a hand after she slipped her shoes on.  
  
"Come on"  
  


\--  
  


Her heart was still racing, even after being jerked from her sleep and the nightmare. Even after Eddie had helped her up and practically walked her out of his apartment.  
  
How long had it been since she'd had a nightmare as vivid as that? She had been so sure that she was dying again in that lake.  
  
She almost couldn't recall a single instance of even really dreaming since waking up here. The thought made her realize that she hadn't even really dreamt in months.  
  
Then again maybe her body and mind had started to be too fatigued to give her as detailed dreams or nightmares? Her mind so focused on surviving on the streets that it had little time for anything else. Maybe now that she'd gotten so many good nights of rest, her mind was going to remind her vividly and painfully that nightmares could simply just be a memory of what had happened but slightly different each time.  
  
Could she really withstand dreams of dying over and over again?  
  
She didn't shake Eddies grip on her shoulder as they walked and honestly, she didn't want to. He was solid and warm and right now, she felt cold despite the jacket hanging off of her shoulders.  
  
He walked with her, arm around her shoulders keeping her alarmingly snug against his side in a way that couldn't of been comfortable to him at all and just silently guided her up the steps of his apartment building.  
  
A glance up and she found his eyes set ahead of them with way more determination in them than she thought should be there.  
  
They stayed like that until he opened a door and walked her out onto the buildings roof top.


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm gonna apologize now, this should have been a part of the previous chapter and somehow I missed it when I edited? So small chapter is followed by another smaller chapter because I'm not done with the actuuual next next chapter (If that makes sense) ? I mean I have several different ones for farther in the story but haven't linked them together in a way that's at all cohesive.

Eddie woke up slowly and shifted closer to a solid warmth that wasn't even out of reach in front of him. It was when his mind registered said solid warmth that he fully woke up all at once.

  
**_'Do not get mad Eddie'_ **

  
Instantly his eyes opened to find that he obviously _wasn't_ on the roof anymore and neither was Tess. They were both laying on top of a freshly made bed that he knew hadn't been made when they'd headed out to the roof. Her back was almost flush against his chest and his arm had practically been draped over her hip. It took all of three seconds for him to take it in and then all of his self restraint not to flail away from her and off of the bed.

  
_Don't get mad?!_

  
He resisted the urge to start talking right then and there and instead, slowly eased himself off the bed and slipped himself out of the room as quietly and as quickly as he could. Once the door was shut and they were in the kitchen, the furious whispering began but he was careful to control his voices volume just in case.

The first sentence came out practically all one angerly rushed word.

  
" _Icannotbelieveyoudidthat!_ What about personal space and boundaries is it that you refuse to listen to? We've been over this a thousand times and you went and skipped like 20 steps of human interaction in one night!"

  
There was a literal grumble within his chest but he didn't feel a single ounce of shame from the Symbiote, only a thread of satisfaction that they were seriously going to have to talk about. He really, _really_ didn't need V to start being mischievous or proactive when it came to them, him? And relationships.

  
_**'Did you want me to leave the two of you asleep on the roof when the rain came in? I did not pull her closer, that was**_ **you** _ **Eddie'** _

  
He glared at the eggs that he'd started frying for their breakfast and chose to ignore the last statement.

  
"No but turning into Venom and hopping down the fire escape of our building with an unconscious woman is kind of attention grabbing, you could have just woken me up.."

  
There was no grumble this time, instead a black tendril snagged the salt that was sitting further away on the counter and left it close to the stove, right within reach for him.

  
**_'Less so than taking over and walking back down through the building to the apartment door... It was also easier... Besides you were asleep'_ **

  
He noted that there was still no mention of deciding to deposit the both of them in the same bed.

  
"If you went through all of that trouble then why not take the three extra steps to put one of us on the couch huh? Especially since you managed to have time to switch the damn sheets before doing so"

  
There was a too long moment of silence he found suspicious.

  
_**'The clean ones were ideal and you both slept soundly enough... Humans are not designed to be solitary creatures**  '_

  
Pulling up facts about humans? What kind of weird subject evasion was this..

  
"That doesn't mean yo-"

  
His mouth snapped shut on him as a wave of awareness surged through him.

  
_**'She's awake Eddie'** _

  
_Great._

 


End file.
